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Lawrence Taylor has some advice for Micah Parsons.
“Stay healthy, set your goal and never take your eyes off the prize,” LT told The Post in a text.
And that is the last time the names Lawrence Taylor and Micah Parsons should be mentioned in the same sentence.
Parsons will be Defensive Rookie of the Year, and is in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year. He is not arguably the greatest player in NFL history. He is not a Hall of Famer. He is not known as MP.
There will never be Another Lawrence Taylor.
“I don’t think it’s true,” LT said. “They throw the ball almost 80 times a game giving you more chances to make a difference.”
His 56Ness recorded 132.5 quarterback sacks (not including 9.5 sacks in his rookie 1981 season before sacks became an official NFL stat) — just imagine how many he would have finished with today. Parsons has sacks in six consecutive games and has 12 overall.
LT doesn’t watch the game a whole lot these days.
“Just heard about him this week,” he said.
It is Giants-Cowboys Week, and there is every chance that if the Giants don’t wreck the game themselves, Parsons will wreck it for them.
“He’s tough to prepare for,” Giants offensive play-caller Freddie Kitchens said. “He’s a great player, great energy, he can run, very athletic, strong and plays really, really physical. You try to do what you can to eliminate guys like that, which he’s hard to eliminate. You’re not gonna eliminate guts like that. You just gotta make sure you got him accounted for and know where he’s at.
“He can rush the passer, he can play in coverage, he can play the run. As a defender, you’re trying to look for guys that do all three and he does all three pretty well.”
Quarterbacks coach Jerry Schuplinski has just gotten over COVID. Now this.
“It’s a great challenge, he’s a great player and I think their defense is great in general,” he said. “[Defensive coordinator] Dan Quinn’s done a great job with them, those guys are physical, relentless, they attack, they get on you real right in coverage. They’re really good across the board.
“He’s a unique guy. He can play in the middle, he can play on the edge, he can play lines over the center, he can line up over the 3 technique as we saw last game and run the puck games and the stunts and just straight rush guys. He’s a real challenge, you gotta know where he’s at on every play, but they’ve got so many good players too, that helps him get isolated a little bit, too.”
The Giants O-line versus Micah Parsons: the moveable object attempts to keep the irresistible force off of Mike Glennon.
“Very active, does everything fast, has multiple things to his game,” offensive line coach Rob Sale said. “If you put too much on him, the other guys are gonna get you.”
Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham could have used a difference-maker such as Parsons.
“He’s being disruptive in the pass rush, he’s being disruptive in the run game, that’s why he was drafted where he was drafted,” Graham said. “When you watch the crossover tape, you see the good players out there. You see the Chris Joneses of the world from Kansas City, you see [Matthew] Judon from New England. Players like to see those guys, too, ’cause there’s stuff you can learn from, too.”
NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger has featured Parsons often on his acclaimed Baldy’s Breakdown videos.
“Micah is creating his own legacy,” Baldinger told The Post. “It’s his style. Lawrence was a violent player … he was just a different type of player. Micah can do some of those things. He’s got unusual pass rush moves for a guy that’s never really played that position before. He’s an advanced student. He’s got a burst of speed that I don’t even think a guy like LT had. And that’s what shows up all the time, is just how quickly he can diagnose a play and then close on a play.
“He’s got all the skill sets. He can cover, he can play zone, he can play man, he can play linebacker, he can be your blitz guy from the inside, he can be your end on the outside. I’ve seen him cover slot receivers. He really can play six different positions.”
Baldinger references a play Parsons made in the first Giants-Cowboys game.
“They put Kadarius Toney at wildcat,” he said. “And he was playing like the off-linebacker. He does this read-option fake and then he pulls it and he takes off. And when he takes off from the end zone, there’s a clear path to the end zone. And Micah came out of nowhere and like cleaned his clock near the goal line. Kadarius can scoot, but he closed that hole down as fast as anybody I’ve ever seen.”
If there is a comparison you can make for Parsons with LT, it is in their mentality.
“If they don’t bite when they’re puppies,” Bill Parcells used to say, “they usually won’t bite.” Micah Parsons bites as a puppy.
“LT, you knew he was a badass, and he couldn’t wait to show his swagger,” Baldinger said. “I don’t want to make any other comparisons with LT, but, I do think he’s got a similar swagger. I think he knows he’s good. I see teams try to run read-option against him. It’s just a waste of time. As soon as he sees it, he just chases you down. His closing speed, there’s no other linebacker in the league that can close like that.”
Now if he can stay healthy, set his goal and keep his eyes on the prize … sorry to disagree, LT. There will never be Another Lawrence Taylor.
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